The NFL has renewed its partnership with Wilson Sporting Goods, continuing Wilson’s role as the official football of the league. “Since 1941, every point in the NFL has been scored with a Wilson® Football, making this one of the longest partnerships in sports history.”
Riyadh Season, the entertainment and sports festival held annually in the Saudi Arabian capital, has been named title partner for UFC 306, scheduled to be held at Sphere in Las Vegas Sept. 14. The event marks the first time UFC will provide a sponsor with title partner status, rebranding UFC 306 to Riyadh Season Noche UFC.
NBCUniversal said it has renamed its signature show for the upcoming Summer Olympics, Primetime in Paris, hosted by Mike Tirico nightly on NBC and Peaco*ck. He will be joined “on most nights” by Snoop Dogg “with a report after a day of attending Olympic competitions, visiting with Olympic athletes and their friends and families, and exploring the unique sights and sounds that only Paris has to offer.”
The WTA said former World No.1 and recently retired GarbiñeMuguruza will serve as Tournament Director for the WTA Finals Riyadh, the season-ending tournament of the Hologic WTA Tour Nov. 2-9. She becomes the first former player to spearhead the WTA’s crown jewel event, which she won in 2021.
Caitlin Clark was named the 2024 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, just the fourth athlete to win the CWSA Honda Cup multiple times, joining Maya Moore, Tracy Caulkins and Rachel Garcia.
Hallmark Media, Skydance Sports (a joint venture between the NFL and Skydance) and the Kansas City Chiefs are joining for Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, a movie scheduled to being production in July that will film entirely in Kansas City, MO locations, including the Chiefs GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium,. Neither Travis Kelce or Taylor Swift were mentioned in the synopsis. The film is scheduled to premiere during the 15th annual Countdown to Christmas.
Dearica Hamby (WNBA Los Angeles Sparks) has been named to the U.S. Women's 3x3 Basketball Team for the Paris Olympics. She is an injury replacement for teammate Cameron Brink, who tore her ACL and is out for the the season. Hamby joins Hailey Van Lith, Cierra Burdick and Rhyne Howard on the Olympic roster. Howard (WNBA's Atlanta Dream) is currently out with an ankle injury.
Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder) and brother Cody, a 2024 NBA prospect, star in a new humorous campaign from PepsiCo brand Starry and Buffalo Wild Wings, which also features faux third brother Barry Williams, played by actor/comedian Jay Pharoah, who is left out of basketball games (and commercials) due to his lack of skills.
Pro gymnast Simone Biles has signed with biotech haircare brand K18 as a brand ambassador and will front K18's latest “inner-strength campaign.”
World No. 2 ranked tennis star Coco Gauff has signed her first beverage deal, multi-year business venture with Tropicana Brands Group NakedBrand as chief smoothie officer.
The NFL, NFLPhysicians Society and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society today unveiled the roster of medical students who will participateinthe third yearoftheNFLDiversity inSportsMedicinePipelineInitiative. Launched in 2022, the league-wide program “aims to increase and diversify the pipeline of students interested in pursuing careers in sports medicine and, over time, help to diversifyNFLclub medical staffs.”
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (2,375,199 votes) and Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies (2,037,523 votes) continue to lead in the second update of the first phase of the 2024 MLB All-Star Ballot presented by BuildSubmarines.com, which runs until June 27. Yankees Juan Soto is second overall in AL votes (2,136,383), followed by Baltimore Orioles C Adley Rutschman (1,638,425) and SS Gunnar Henderson (1,551,124).
Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm is second overall in votes in the NL (1,960,231) followed by Los Angeles Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani (1,773,404) and SS Mookie Betts (1,680,658, but out with a fractured left hand) and San Diego Padres OF Jurickson Profar (1,646,276).
Unrivaled Sports, co-founded by Josh Harris and David Blitzer, said it has made a strategic investment inSnoBahn indoor action sports center with two locations in Colorado. SnoBahn has also received a strategic investment from Ares Management, which includes snowboarding legend Shaun White.
Two-time WNBA champion A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever lead the voting after the first round of fan returns for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2024. Wilson leads all players with 217,773 votes, followed by Clark (216,427). Clark’s teammate, Aliyah Boston is third (171,864), followed by Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty (151,984), and Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings (130,838). (See full results here.)
New Balance has unveiled the Shohei Ohtani Signature Collection by New Balance. Cleats will be available with a corresponding apparel line as part of a popup presence July 14 during All-Star Week in Arlington, on New Balance's online shop for Home Run Derby July 15.
The International Motor Sports Assn. and NBC Sports have signed a multi-year extension of their media rights agreement, keeping NBC Sports as the home of the flagship IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and other IMSA-sanctioned series. NBC Sports said its IMSA viewership has grown 37% in the past five years since acquiring media rights prior to the 2019 season
ESPN, the NFL and RCX youth sports experience business will stage the inaugural NFL Flag Championships presented by Toyota, July 19-21, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village, Canton, Ohio. More than 32 hours of live flag football competition will be available across ESPN, Disney and NFL platforms. The NFL said 2,860 flag players would participate, representing 280 NFL Flag regional winning teams of girls and boys and six international teams.
The city of San Francisco celebrates every May 24 as Willie Mays Day. If it's not already happening, MLB needs to do this league-wide by 2025, joining Jackie Robinson Day (April 15), Lou Gehrig Day (June 2) and Roberto Clemente Day (Sept. 15). NFL Training Camp Reporting Dates and Locations
RIP Jerry West
Carlos Alcaraz has signed an extension with Nike for approximately ten years, valued at $150-$200 million, according to Spanish sports Web site Relevo, which will include the creation of his own custom logo. He has been with Nike since 2019. His deals also include BMW, Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, Rolex and Babolat.
EA Sports said San Francisco 49ers RB and 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey would be on the cover of Madden NFL 25 regular and deluxe editions, launching worldwide Aug. 16.
The NHL and NHL Players' Association, with the V Foundation for Cancer Research, unveiled a funding of $2.9 million that will go directly to life-saving cancer research. More than $4 million was raised this season after the League partnered with the V Foundation during the 25th anniversary of Hockey Fights Cancer.
RIP: Grayson Murray
RIP: Kim Van Gundy
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'Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity' — #MartinLutherKingJr
'We have come too far, we have sacrificed too much, to disdain the future now' — #JFK
“All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.” — Robert F. Kennedy d June 6, 1968 @TheSatoProject
